Cut Cooking Time And The Calories

When it’s too hot too cook, pretend you’re chilling out on the French Riviera with a glass of wine, a loaf of crusty bread and a substantial salad for supper.

With this recipe for a streamlined Light Salade Nicoise, you can enjoy a delicious summer meal with a minimum of cooking and less than 300 calories and 4 grams of fat per serving (not including your wine or bread).

Traditional French recipes for Salad Nicoise call for tuna, anchovies, hard-boiled eggs, black olives, boiled potatoes and green beans, all liberally doused with an olive-oil-based salad dressing.

Light Salade Nicoise contains all the essential ingredients, except the anchovies and hard-boiled eggs. And instead of the traditional, high-fat dressing, this Americanized version is made with vegetable broth, white wine and balsamic vinegar, thickened with a small amount of cornstarch.

The oil-free dressing doesn’t add fat to your salad, so you can splurge on some other relatively high-fat foods, such as Parmesan cheese, black olives and canned tuna. To avoid excess fat in your meal, be sure to shop for water-packed tuna and skip slathering butter on your French bread.

Light Salade Nicoise

1-1/3 cups Vegetable Vinaigrette Dressing (recipe follows)

1 pound red-skinned potatoes (about 3 medium potatoes)

1 (9-ounce) box frozen French-style green beans, thawed (or equal amount fresh, cooked beans)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 (10-ounce) package ready-to-eat lettuce blend

3 tomatoes, cored and sliced into wedges

1 (6-ounce) can solid white tuna packed in water, drained

6 pitted black olives

4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Scrub the potatoes and cut away any bruised or discolored spots. Cut each potato in half, then slice width-wise into 1/4-inch pieces. Cook the potatoes for 12 to 15 minutes, or until tender, then drain immediately and rinse under cold running water. Drain again.

Toss the warm potatoes with 3 tablespoons of the Vegetable Vinaigrette Dressing and allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. (The warm potatoes will absorb the dressing.)

Separate the green beans and gently squeeze out any excess water. In another bowl, toss the green beans with 1/4 teaspoon salt and about 4 tablespoons of the Vegetable Vinaigrette Dressing. Allow beans to marinate in the dressing while preparing the rest of the salad.

Spread the lettuce on a large platter or place it in a large bowl. Arrange the potatoes, green beans, tomato wedges, tuna, and olives in an attractive pattern on top. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh basil. Serve with remaining Vegetable Vinaigrette Dressing.

Yield: 5 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 246 calories, 16 grams protein, 34 grams carbohydrate, 3.5 grams fat (13 percent fat calories), 18 milligrams cholesterol, 542 milligrams sodium.

Vegetable Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup canned low-sodium vegetable broth

2 tablespoons dry white wine or vermouth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable broth and white wine or vermouth to a boil. In a separate dish, combine the cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of the balsamic vinegar. Stir to make a thin paste and then whisk the paste into the boiling broth mixture. Cook and stir 30 seconds longer, or until the mixture returns to a boil and begins to thicken.

Immediately remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, the mustard, honey, basil and black pepper. Pour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Dressing will stay fresh up to two weeks under refrigeration.

Yield: 1-1/3 cups or 10 (2-tablespoon) servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 32 calories, 6 grams carbohydrate, 0.06 grams fat (no measurable fat calories), no cholesterol, 44 milligrams sodium.

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